Written in Partnership with Amir Bakian
Advancements in agriculture have moved at a slower pace than many other industries. Growers have traditionally taken their cues from nature, and when everyone else is doing it, or they are forced to, they finally evolve and adopt new technologies and better practices.
One historic example was the advancement of machines over horses and mules. Many farmers avoided this change for years even though the animals consumed over 20% of the crops they helped cultivate and took twenty times longer to plant. But, by replacing horses with tractors, over time, they were able to raise their yields significantly and wondered why they didn’t do it sooner.
Another example is irrigation. Year after year, farmers were at the mercy of Mother Nature. But rather than forward-thinking, it took severe droughts before they were convinced to adopt more reliable ways to get water to crops. The resistance to mechanical irrigation and other solutions has mirrored the farming industry’s hesitance to change and reliance on unpredictable elements. But what if farmers quit relying on the unreliable long before they are given no choice? What if farmers adopted those new technologies before the loss of crops, or worse yet, the loss of the whole farm?
The team at Edete, an agriculture tech company, hopes to shift that paradigm. Edete’s US Corp CEO, Ed Surberexplains, “I think as a grower, there are literally thousands if not more variables that you’re trying to control constantly, especially in a commercial setting, to set a good crop so that you can go to market and sell what you’re growing. And, so in the case of irrigation, using rain alone, that’s a huge variable that you’re relying on Mother Nature to bring you each season in order to yield a crop.”
Corporate farmers would have a serious economic advantage by looking for advancements before they became necessary. One such advancement farmers should be considering today is precision pollination. Edete’s Founder and CEO, Eylam Ran, has developed a two-part system that ensures reliable pollination by focusing on clean and viable pollen.
They use mechanical harvesting of flowers to separate, collect and store germinable pollen that maintains viability for several years. By utilizing pollen from different varieties, they aim to find the best matches for pollinizers.
Ed shares, “We’re able to collect the pollen, store the pollen and then reapply it in a very efficient manner at the exact right time, using observations and AI.”
Why pollination? Everyone knows the problem: a decline in pollinator populations, climate change has affected the timing and availability of flowers to nourish pollinators, pesticide usage, and honestly, the list goes on and on. But, many corporate farms have a wait-and-see mentality.
Everything is constantly changing, and farmers need to jump on that paradigm shift to stay viable. Corporate farmers need to not only adopt more sustainable farming practices, including the reduction of pesticides, habitat restoration and crop diversification, but most of all, they need to embrace technology, like Edete’s 2Be, that will help them not only get ahead of a problem instead of waiting for it to cause a deep hole in their pockets and in people’s bellies.
Ed explains, “It’s interesting to think about irrigation and its evolution. We’re at a point now where we can store water and then reapply the water through very efficient means back onto the crop. That is exactly what we at (Edete) are doing with pollination.” He adds, “If corporate farmers don’t do something different, particularly with the pollination component of their growing cycle, they will continue to have to deal with that risk in commercial farming practice. They will have to deal with the unpredictability of nature, the continuing, ever-growing unpredictability of what Mother Nature is bringing them each and every year.”
Amazingly, Edete’s 2Be™ autonomous pollinator units dispense pollen using proprietary algorithms and dozing capabilities, which increase a farmer’s pollination window. The system has succeeded in pistachio and almond orchards and plans to expand into other crops. By getting ahead of a problem, they not only avoid losses but also benefit greatly.
Edete’s Grant Harris adds, “The reliance on nature has collapsed, and steps have had to be taken to solve that with technology. And what we’re trying to do is to say, pollination is the next big evolution that’s going to happen. There have been several along the way… …from seeds, to the water to how we harvest, all of these things have undergone a seismic shift. And you know what, guys? The next big seismic shift is pollination. Why? Because the natural pollination has collapsed.”
Edete’s CEO and Founder Eylam Ran adds, “In most breakthroughs, there were two options. One, that people argued about and one, they later adopted. We talked about the invention of the engine. People argued about whether you should replace the horses. I mean, people loved horses. Who would replace a horse? But, there are some things that no one argues about. We (Edete) are providing that something. We are providing something evolutionary, and there is no arguing its necessity.”
Edete challenges this reactive approach by encouraging corporate farmers to embrace proactive change. With precision pollination and the innovative 2Be™ autonomous pollinator units, Edete offers a solution that allows farmers to get ahead of the problems they face rather than waiting for nature to dictate their fate. It’s a paradigm shift that promises economic advantages, crop quality improvement, and environmental sustainability.
To find out more about this evolutionary agricultural advancement, visit Edete.
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